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The association of maternal smoking during pregnancy with neurobehavioral status was examined in 344 Japanese infants. Based on a questionnaire, their mothers were classified into three groups, Nonsmokers, Exsmokers, and Smokers. The Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale was administered three days after birth. Among the three groups, on the seven clusters and their 28 behavioral subscales there were no significant differences. The infants of Smokers had lower scores than those of Exsmokers and Nonsmokers on two behavioral items, general tone and peak of excitement. General tone remained significant after adjustment for covariates.

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A 77-year-old man suffered from acute pancreatitis during the treatment of relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia with As2O3. He presented with epigastralgia on day 25 during the treatment with As2O3. Pancreatic enzyme levels were elevated and the computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed swelling of the pancreas. As acute pancreatitis due to As2O3 was suspected, As2O3 was discontinued. Intravenous gabexate mesilate was administered, and the pancreatitis improved. Acute pancreatitis should be considered as a possible complication during treatment with As2O3.

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Several birth cohort studies have shown adverse effects of perinatal exposures to methylmercury (MeHg) and environmentally persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These chemicals are ingested mainly through fish consumption, but little is known about the hazardous effects in Japanese, whose fish consumption is high. The present study, the Tohoku Study of Child Development, was designed to examine the effects of perinatal exposures to MeHg, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), dioxins, pesticides, and other chemicals in Japanese children. Six hundred eighty-seven pregnant women were participated in this study with their written informed consent. Maternal peripheral blood, cord blood, cord tissue, placenta, and breast milk samples were collected for chemical analysis. Maternal hair was also taken for MeHg analysis. Infants born at full term were assessed by neurobehavioral tests: the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale at three days old, the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 7 and 18 months old, and the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence at 7 months old. The children will be continuously followed up to ages 6-7 years. Maternal food intake frequency, maternal IQ, socioeconomic status, and home environment were assessed as covariates. The results of this cohort study will allow us to evaluate associations between the neurobehavioral development of children and perinatal exposures to MeHg and environmentally POPs in Japan.

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Little attention has been paid to the mental health of inhabitants of methylmercury-polluted areas in Japan. This study examined the relationship between one's experience with Minamata disease (MD) (such as compensation issues) and psychological distress. The subjects were 133 (44.2%) of the 301 inhabitants over the age of 40 years living in two fishing village districts along the coast of the Yatsushiro Sea which had been contaminated with methylmercury. Data on the inhabitants' experience with MD, social network factor, health condition and mental health were obtained using questionnaires including the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-30. The proportional odds model was used to estimate the adjusted odds ratios of factors associated with a higher GHQ score after adjustment for age, sex and village. MD status based on MD compensation, level of participation in MD patients' groups, and presence of certified MD patients in the family were significantly associated with psychological distress. Although these associations decreased after further adjustments were made taking health condition into consideration, MD status, participation in several sit-ins and the presence of certified MD patients in the family maintained marginally positive association with psychological distress. Further investigations with more precise and detailed measurements are needed to corroborate the relationship between inhabitants' experience with MD and mental health.

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We estimated daily mercury intakes from seafood in 154 mothers residing in several cities and towns in Akita, Japan, to address the relationships between the reference dose (RfD of 0.1 microg/kg body weight per day, derived by US EPA) and daily mercury intakes, combined with hair mercury levels. The frequency and volume of seafood ingested by them were examined using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with 25 kinds of full-scale pictures including fish and shellfish items. Hair mercury concentrations in the mothers were also determined. The geometric means in the mothers were 15.3 (2.65-48.4) microg/day for daily mercury intakes from seafood, calculated on the basis of the references on mercury contents, and 1.73 (0.49-5.82) microg/g for hair mercury concentrations. The daily mercury intake was significantly correlated with hair mercury concentrations (Spearman rank correlation coefficient rs=0.335, p<0.001). No significant differences in mercury intakes were found either between mothers residing in fishing and non-fishing areas or between those in cities and towns (p>0.05). Assuming the methylmercury content rate of 75% in seafood mercury and body weight of 55 kg, the mothers were estimated to ingest methylmercury of 0.21 microg/kg body weight per day. It is suggested that daily mercury intakes, calculated by the FFQ, reflect hair mercury levels, and there is no interregional difference in the daily mercury intake unless any special circumstance exists. Daily methylmercury intake in more than 90% of Japanese women may exceed the RfD, and it therefore seems to be far from the present state of Japanese dietary lives.

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Synthetic UV-detectable peptide pI markers were used to estimate isoelectric point (pI) values of proteins separated by capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) followed by cathodic mobilization in the absence of denaturing agents. The pI calculation and quantitative analysis of purified proteins showed the feasibility of these peptides as pI markers and internal standards in CIEF separation of proteins. Estimation of pI values of major proteins in human plasma was performed using the peptide pI markers, and the values were compared with those previously obtained by gel isoelectric focusing (IEF). Sera of immunoglobulin G (IgG) myeloma patients, which showed characteristic peaks of myeloma IgG in their CIEF patterns, were also subjected to the analysis and the pI values of the myeloma proteins have been estimated.

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In order to assess the cardiovascular autonomic nervous functions in patients with fetal type Minamata disease (FMD), we investigated blood pressure (BP), and conducted time and frequency domain analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). Subjects were 9 patients in Meisuien recognized as FMD, and 13 healthy age matched control subjects. HRV and BP were assessed after subjects rested in a supine position for 10 minutes. Electrocardiographic (ECG) data were collected for 3 minutes during natural breathing. Time domain analysis (the average of R-R intervals [Mean RR], standard deviation of R-R intervals [SD RR], coefficient of variation [CV]), and frequency domain analysis by fast Fourier transformation (FFT) (power of low frequency [LF] and high frequency [HF] component, expressed in normalized units[nu]) were then conducted. In the time domain analysis, the mean RR of the FMD group was significantly lower than that of the control group. Neither SD RR nor CV showed significant differences between the two groups, but both tended to be lower in the FMD group. In the frequency domain analysis, the HF component of the FMD group was significantly lower than that of the control group. Pulse pressure (PP) was significantly lower in the FMD subjects. These findings suggest that parasympathetic nervous dysfunction might exist in FMD patients, who were exposed to high doses of methylmercury (MeHg) during the prenatal period. Decrease of PP might be due to degenerative changes of blood vessels driven by exposure to high doses of MeHg.

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